In case you haven’t noticed … competition season is here! You’ll want your mind and your body ready to go and ready to endure long hours of hard work. Blisters, bunions, and ingrown toenails are the enemy and it’s vital to have a strong defence against these formidable warriors. Here are seven tips to keep your toes in tip-top shape.

It’s mid-January and unless you’re fortunate enough to reside in a warm, tropical climate, then you’re like me and endure an icy tundra of subzero temperatures and never ending precipitation every winter. This unfortunately does not make for a happy body going into dance class. You’re cold, shivering, and your muscles have tightened up.

Today I spent my afternoon at a graduation party for one of my closest friends.
Right inside the doors to the hall, the dance scrapbooks were displayed, containing years of recital photos and memories that were good, bad, and everything in between.

Particularly in my advanced jazz and tap classes, I like to have a pre-choreographed, routine warm-up that I teach at the beginning of the school year and we use to get class going for the rest of the season.

Often times teacher are faced with the obstacle to interact with people who are simultaneously passionate to dance, but also shy when they need to interact with a large group. There are certain dynamics in the dance room that beginners are unaware of, so introduce them to this world and you will see them shine faster than you anticipated. This post is split in two parts – psychological and practical.

I teach a lot of pre-teens and teenagers. Anyone who has done the same knows that this can be the most difficult age to deal with in terms of maintaining the balance of teacher and friend. Obviously I want my students to learn, but I want them to be comfortable with me, trust me, and respect me. After all, I'm not that much older than some of them are (I'm almost twenty, currently).

All too frequently, roles need to be shared. You and another dancer(s) will be doing the same steps at different times and will likely be compared. There's a lot of pressure that comes with that and sometimes it's tough to handle. We dancers are competitive by nature and sharing the spotlight does not always bring out the best in people.

You look at the cast list bright eyed and with a heart full of hope. Scanning your finger down the list you frantically search for your name and there it is. No… not in the slot for the lead, but in parentheses next to it. Understudy. Your heart automatically sinks but not so fast, dear reader! All hope is not lost.

There's a lot of competition and drama at my dance school, especially in my level. I love the school itself but a certain few girls are driving all the levels crazy, and they're girls that I dance with every day. Do you have any recommendations for dealing with drama?